Last-room-available search apparatus and method

Abstract

A system and method for customer-oriented searching and purchasing of goods and services relies on a database having records corresponding to purveyors, products and services, and purchasers and maintained by a third party independent from all the foregoing. Searches may obtain information with or without cooperation of purveyors (vendors). Filtering before presentation to a user, according to specific needs or requirements eliminates inapplicable vendors, products, or services. Particularly, if quality rating, features, or actual availability is lacking, the system does not waste a user's time to evaluate. Deal-killer parameters and values punish vendors lacking disclosure. Rather than publish what the seller wants to advertise, the system retrieves for a user the information on items that meet criteria of, and according to their importance to, a user, especially deal-killer parameters.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61 / 390,250, filed Oct. 6, 2010 for AUTOMATED ELECTRONIC TRAVEL AGENT.BACKGROUND[0002]1. The Field of the Invention[0003]This invention relates to software and, more particularly, to novel systems and methods for searching, filtering, and presenting reservation information for lodging.[0004]2. The Background Art[0005]Online purchasing of goods and services is known in the art, resulting in users becoming exceedingly frustrated at the lists of information that turns out to be ultimately useless to the purchaser. Who has not gone online to find lodging and found at the end of a seemingly endless reading of advertising materials, viewing of rooms, selection of features, review of rates, and the like that the room or other accommodation desired is not available.[0006]Online purchasing is by nature very advertising oriented. It is not typically purchaser oriented. Selle...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0023]Very valuable, an availability filter is effective to prevent the user interface from presenting to a user at least one of advertising and transaction information corresponding to a purveyors based on the values. It may also be effective to prevent presentation to the user interface module information corresponding to purveyors not satisfying the values. Likewise, it may prevent transactions by the user interface module and a purveyor computer, based on the values.

[0024]In some embodiments, at least one of preference filters and profile filters may be executable to control selection of purveyor records from the database and presented to the user interface based on at least one of purchaser inputs received by the user interface from a purchaser and user purchase history data obtained from previous transactions completed by the user interface module. Also, a tracker module monitoring transactions completed by the user interface module may save that information for future transactions and modifying profiles and preferences.

[0028]In one aspect, an automated electronic travel agent is disclosed. An automated electronic travel agent may be embodied as a handheld device with a GPS receiver and wireless internet access and programmed with travel agent functions. The automated travel agent displays, for example, nearby hotels and motels that list vacancies via a third-party service provider. Proximity to hotels and motels is determined by the GPS receiver. Communication with the third-party service provider is enabled by means of the wireless the wireless network interface. To enhance the commercial viability of the automated electronic travel agent, banner advertisements may be displayed in conjunction with room vacancies.

Problems solved by technology

Online purchasing of goods and services is known in the art, resulting in users becoming exceedingly frustrated at the lists of information that turns out to be ultimately useless to the purchaser.

Sellers try to promote what benefits them, and this approach is directly contrary to the point of view of the buyer.

Moreover, brokerage types of web sites usually impose tremendous risk, requiring blind bidding, blind commitments, flexibility of time or time, and so forth.

Many computer users making such purchases or reservations cannot give up the required elements necessary to work with brokerage types of sites.

Those who have done so often have disastrous results.

Stories abound wherein airplane, hotel, or other reservations purchased turn out to be completely unsuitable for the very purpose for which purchased.

Restrict any of those conditions, and the problems begin.

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